Pope Francis Meets US Church Leaders Over Sex Abuse Scandal

Pope Francis met with US bishops and cardinals on Thursday to talk about the Vatican´s response to the devastating claims of sexual abuse by priests.

For this discussion, Pope met with the leader of the US Conference of Bishops Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, and Cardinal Sean O´Malley of Boston, who advises the pope on sex abuse issues. DiNardo´s deputy Jose Horacio Gomez and general secretary Brian Bransfield were also present in the meeting.

The US Catholic Church came under the controversy after a report was published on sexual abuse by priests in Pennsylvania followed by the resignation of US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in July. McCarrick was accused of sexually abusing a teenager in early 1970 when he was working as a priest in New York.

The US Bishops´ Conference, later, issued a statement in which they called this sexual abuse controversy “a recent moral crisis in the American Catholic Church”.

“We look forward to actively continuing our discernment together identifying the most effective next steps.” The statement reads.

the pope also accepted the resignation of US Bishop Michael Bransfield on Thursday. Bransfield’s cousin was also present in the Thursday’s meeting. Pope ordered an investigation into the sexual harassment allegations filed against Bransfield.